Dubai: Former 14-time Middle East Rally Champion Mohammad Bin Sulayem has called upon all institutions to unify under one umbrella to usher in a boom for motorsports in the region.

Bin Sulayem was speaking to media after laying the foundation stone for the brand-new premises for the Automobile and Touring Club for UAE (ATCUAE) at Al Mamzar yesterday.

Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum was present at the stone-laying function in the presence of Ebrahim Abdul Malek, Secretary General of the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW).

"We can all be proud of this facility in such a prime location," Bin Sulayem stated.

Work on the Dh16 million project is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

"Motorsports in the UAE and the Gulf is getting bigger and bigger. We are growing all the time. This is boom time for the sport," Bin Sualyem predicted.

Crucial role

With the Dubai Autodrome playing a crucial role in upping the stakes a couple of years back, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, donated 30,000 square metres of land for the construction of the new premises.

"We have a mission here and that is to ensure that the ATCUAE controls motorsport in the UAE while also offering its services to motoring tourists and travellers. We are here to implement rules set down by the FIA," Bin Sulayem insisted.

He felt all such bodies should come together to achieve a common goal.

"Most of the clubs in the UAE are affiliated to the ATCUAE. And if there are some then they cannot stand separately or go alone for long or they will be singing all alone in the rain," Bin Sulayem stated.

The former champion clarified that he and the ATCUAE are present in the country to merely implement the rules laid down by the FIA.

"We are not here to organise any competition. We are merely implementing the rules laid down by the governing body. We are not here to step on toes," Bin Sulayem stated.